Danam at it again, booked for assault

Minister’s driver, aides also charged

A criminal case was registered against Labour Minister Danam Nagender, his car driver and two aides, on Friday in connection with the assault on Greyhounds employee Sambashiva Rao.

The Banjara Hills police invoked sections 323 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against the minister and the other three persons following the complaint lodged by Rao. He maintained that the minister’s aides, Balu and Narsimha, roughed him up when he was entangled in a traffic congestion row with a vehicle owner on Sagar Society road on Thursday.

A police patrol party rushed to the spot and brought Rao, along with the other two, to the police station to ascertain facts when the minister drove up.

“On learning that the minister had come to the police station, I went to him but he asked his driver to beat me up,” Mr. Rao told the police.

The First Information Report issued by the police mentioned the minister’s driver as an unidentified person while the names of Danam Nagender, Balu and Narsimha figured in it.

“We’re yet to identify the minister’s driver who had allegedly attacked Mr. Rao,” Banjara Hills Inspector P. Murali Krishna said, adding that the complaints against the minister and his followers were being probed.

Making a habit of it

Three months ago, an advocate, A. Tirupathi Varma, had lodged a complaint with the Banjara Hills police alleging that Mr. Nagender had assaulted him on Road No. 12 of Banjara Hills.

The lawyer claimed that he was beaten up without any provocation by the minister. The matter is still under investigation, police said.

In August 2012, the minister and his followers were accused of locking up the main gate of Laxminarasimha temple in Banjara Hills alleging that the management of the temple was acting against the interests of locals. The temple manager approached the police leading to a criminal case being registered against the Mr. Nagender and his aides. However, no action was taken. A Sub Inspector had also complained to senior officers that the minister had abused him while he was on duty at the temple. The complaint was entered in the general diary but no case was registered.